Help us to make art happen

The Foundling Museum needs your help to give a voice to the mothers who gave up their babies to the Foundling Hospital

We will be raising £23,000 in just six weeks to help realise The Fallen Woman, a major new exhibition bringing the stories of the Foundling Hospital mothers to the fore.

The exhibition will explore the myth and reality of the ‘fallen woman’ in Victorian Britain, revealing hidden testimonies from women who petitioned the Hospital to take their illegitimate babies into care. Working in partnership with the Art Fund, we will be raising funds through the online crowdfunding platform Art Happens.

Donations from just £5 will earn you a reward and any donation, whatever the size, takes us a step closer to bringing these stories to life. To donate or to find out more about our campaign, please visit our Art Happens page.

The exhibition includes paintings by major nineteenth century artists such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Richard Redgrave, George Frederic Watts and Thomas Faed, including works that have not been seen in the UK for generations. Alongside these pieces we hear the real stories of nineteenth century fallen women through the petitions of those applying to give up their babies to London’s Foundling Hospital. These are brought to life by a specially-commissioned sound installation from musician and composer, Steve Lewinson.

“This exhibition will enable real ‘fallen women’ to tell their stories for the first time, giving us the opportunity to see their fictional counterparts afresh and to hear a familiar tale made unfamiliar in the telling” – Caro Howell, Director, The Foundling Museum